Signaling system



25, g N D S IGNALING SYSTEM Filed July 21, 1951. 2 Sheets-Sheet l E53 3v awue nto'c S. N. MEAD SIGNALING SYSTEM Feb 25, 1936.

Filed July 21, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR By TI L. W A TTORNEY fatented 2 5, I936 UNHTED STATES PATENT OFFICE SIGNALING SYSTEMApplication July 21, 1931, Serial No. 552.180

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a signaling system and more particularly to asignaling system wherein the desired signal is transmitted by a movementof a shaft in the transmitter and in- 5 dicated at a receiver by thesynchronous movement of a corresponding shaft carrying a pointer, orother indicating device.

The object of this invention is to provide a signaling system wherein asingle receiver or plurality of receivers may be controlled at will byany one of a plurality of transmitters.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a system whereinany one of a plurality of transmitters is also effective to control thesame receiver or a series of receivers without the necessity of manuallyoperating a switching mechanism.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described as appliedto an engine order system for use on board ship for transmitting ordersfrom the bridge to the engine room for the control of the engines.

It is customary on board ship to have two transmitters located on thebridge, one on the starboard side and one on the port side, and anindicator controlled by said transmitters in the engine room. In knownsystems it is not possible to change from one transmitter to the otherwithout first throwing a switch or manually operating an interlockingmechanism for disabling one transmitter and cutting in the other as itis necessary to employ some retaining means which looks the transmitterin the various positions and if a transmitter were left in circuit whileso locked it would prevent the proper operation of the rest of thesystem by another transmitter. The disadvantage of a manually operatedswitching system is that there is always a danger of forgetting to throwthe switch, which in an emergency might cause delay in the reception oforders at the engine room and consequent damage of the vessel.

7 The present invention contemplates the use of polyphase motors of thewell known synchronous 5 type which have their fields energized by meansof a common source of alternating current and the respective windings ofthe armature in one motor connected in series with the correspondingwindings of the other motor, the arrangement 50 being such that themovement of the handle or other device attached to the shaft of onemotor and the resulting displacement of the armature will cause currentto be induced in the coils of the armature of the other motor, producinga 55 torque which will cause the second motor to move the same angulardistance as the shaft of the first motor. Suitable pointers or otherindicating means may be controlled by the shaft of the indicating unitand a handle or other operating means may be attached to the shaft ofthe trans- 5 mitting unit.

Referring to the drawings of which there are two sheets,

Figure 1 shows a diagram of the circuits of one embodiment of thisinvention in which two trans- 10 mitters are used to operate oneindicating unit.

Figure 2 is a modification of Figure 1, showing a diagram of thecircuits by which one indicating unit is controlled by any one of threetransmitters. 15

Figure 3 is a schematic drawing showing a transmitter.

Figure 4 is a schematic drawing of an indicator..

Figure 5 is a top view of the relay employed 20 in this invention.

Figure 6 shows the mechanical locking arrangement of the relay armature.

Figure '7 is an elementary diagram of a two transmitter system. 25

Referring to Figures 1 and 3, a transmitter has field coils l which areconnected by circuits A and B to a suitable source of alternatingcurrent 5. A shaft 6 supported in suitable bearings I and 8 carries anarmature 9 having a three 30 phase Y connected winding.

The teeth of a star wheel [0 mounted on shaft 6 are engaged by a detentroller ll carried by a supporting member 12 mounted on a suitable pivotl3. Spring I4 tends to hold roller ll be- 35 tween the teeth of starwheel 10. A projection of insulating material carried by member I2 isarranged to operate a series of contacts I5 held by a block ofinsulating material I6. The transmitters X and Y are identical and thesame ref- 40 erence characters are used to indicate the correspondingparts of the respective transmitters.

One end of shaft 6 passes through a dial I! which may be laid out into adesired number of divisions or sections corresponding to those on areceiving dial in order that a handle I8 fixed to the end of shaft 6 maybe turned into position with accuracy. One end of coils 21, 22 and 23 isjoined together at 24 and the other ends of coils 2| and 22 are joinedrespectively to contacts 25 and 26 of a transfer relay 21.

A transfer relay which has been found suitable for the purpose comprisesa pair of magnets Y28 and 29 having respectively armatures 30 and 3|mounted on a common member or walking beam 32 which is pivoted on anupright 33. At one end of the walking beam are mounted two members 34and 35 both being made of a conducting material. The circuits which willbe described in detail later on are such that only one of the transferrelay magnets may be operated at a time, and when either magnet isoperated the corresponding end of the Walking beam will be drawn downand so when magnet 28 attracts its armature 39 the members 34 and 35will be brought into engagement with the contact members 25 and 26respectively, and when magnet 29 is energized 34 and 35 will be drawnaway from their respective contacts, and another pair of contact membersat the other 'end of the walking beam will be brought into engagementwith a similar set of contacts.

Associated with contact member 25 but insulated therefrom is a similarmember 40 and likewise a contact 4| is paired with 26. The contact pairsjust referred to are bulged out near their upper ends as shown in thedrawings and above the rounded portion the contacts are bent away fromeach other forming two pairs of jaws.

By having the contacts soshaped the members 34 and 35 may be locked downwhenever magnet 28 is operated since during their downward travel theywill force the contacts apart on their initial engagement and when theyreach the place where the contact blades are bulged the blades will tendto snap together retaining the armature and a circuit will be maintainedacross 25 and 40 and 26 and 4| even though magnet 28 is subsequentlydeenergized.

Contacts 40 and 4| are connected respectively with one terminal of thecoils R2 and R22 of the armature of a motor in the receiving orindicating unit R. The motor in the unit R is the same as that in thetransmitter X and its field coils RI are energized from the same sourceof alternating current 5. Coils 23 and R23 are connected together whilethe remaining terminals of coils RZI, and R23 are connected together.

Coils R2|, R22, and. R23 are mounted on the shaft 42 between the fieldmagnets RI. The shaft is free to. rotate in bearings43 and 44. One endof the shaft 42 projects through a suitable dial 45 and. the outer endof the shaft may carry a pointer 46 or beused to operate otherindicating mechanism.

Contacts 49 and 4| are connected respectively to similar contacts 49 and5| at the other end of the transfer relay. Contact 48 is paired with acontact 49 and associated with this contact pair is a contact member 52carried by the walking beam and likewise contacts 5ll'and 5| are adaptedto be engaged by the contact 53 on the walking beam. The contact members52 and 53 are brought into engagement and retained by their respectivecontact pairs when magnet 29 of the transfer relay is operated.

As previously stated a star wheel I is mounted on shaft 6. There are asmany teeth'in the star wheel as there are indication positions on dialI1. The arrangement is such that when handle IB is moved to the properpoint for an indication the jockey roller II will rest between two teethand. act as a retaining means for the shaft 5. When the shaft is rotatedin either direction by the handle l8 jockey roller I I will ride up on atooth and the insulated member l9 on I2 will engage the lowermost of agroup of contact springs l causing all of the contacts to make with eachother. Contact 51 is connected tocircuit A of the alternatingcurrent'supply5. Contact 58 is connected to magnet 28 of the transferrelay, and the other side of said magnet is connected to circuit B ofthe alternating current supply. Contact 59 is connected to a signal bell39 situated in the vicinity of the indicating unit R, the other side ofthe bell being connected to circuit B of the alternating current supply5.

As previously stated transmitters X and Y are identical and operate inthe same manner. One end of the coils 2| and 22 of transmitter Y leadsrespectively to contacts 48 and 59 of the transfer switch and oneterminal of winding 23 is connected to the corresponding terminals ofthe other motors of the system, while the remaining terminals of allthree coils are jointed together. As is the case with transmitter X,contact 5'! is permanently connected to circuit A and contact 59 ispermanently connected to signal bell 60. Contact 58 however is connectedto the magnet 29 of the transfer relay while the other terminal ofthemagnet is connected to circuit B.

This invention operates as follows: Regardless of the position of theindicating unit R, or of the transmitter Y, assume that it is desired tosend a signal from transmitter X. At the very beginning of the movementof the handle I8, the jockey roller II will start to ride up the face ofa tooth in the star wheel l0 closing all the contacts and placingcurrent from circuit A on all contacts of contact group I5. This willcause the operation of magnet 28 of the transfer relay by a circuitthrough contact 58 to circuit B. After magnet 28 is energized itsarmature 30 is held down by contact members 34 and 35 being lockedmechanically by their respective contact pairs. The battery from circuitA will also be placed on contact 59 .and the current will flow throughbell 69 to circuit B giving a signal at the indicating unit to warn thatthe indication has been changed. Contact members-34 and 35 establishconnection between armature windings 2| and. 2|R. Armature windings 23and 23R are permanently connected toeach other.

As handle It continues to be moved the shaft 42 and the pointer 46 willmove in synchronism therewith until the desired position is reached,when the jockey roller M will drop in between another set of teeth,retaining handle I8 in position.

The circuits will retain this setting'until it is necessary to transmita signal from transmitter Y, in which case the operation is the same asthat just described in connection with transmitter X, except that whentransmitter Y is operated (Figs. 5 and 6) magnet 29 of the transferrelay is energized causing contact members 34 and 35 to break with theirrespective contacts and 52 and 53 to make with and remain locked in bytheir respective contacts. connecting the armature windings 2| and 22 oftransmitter Y to windings R2| and R22 of the indicating unit. Winding 23of transmitter Y is permanently connected to winding R23 of theindicating unit. The movement of the handle of transmitter Y willoperate the bell in the same manner as transmitter X. It will be seenthat-this arrangement provides a positive and accurate method ofcontrolling the indicating unit or series of indicating units, since anumber of indicating units may be connected in parallel and operated byany one of a plurality of transmitters, and the various operations orchanges may be made from any transmitter with the same security as whena single transmitter system is used. 1

Referring now to Figure 2 which illustrates the arrangement by whichthree transmitters may operate a single indicator or series ofindicators. Since the three transmitter system operates according to thesame principle as the two transmitter system just described with theexception of a few minor changes, it is not believed necessary todescribe the three transmitter system in detail.

Transmitters X, Y and Z are identical except that the star wheels of Xand Y operate four contacts while the star wheel in Z operates but threecontacts. Relays M and N are also alike. Windings 2| and 22 oftransmitter X are connected with contacts 25 and 26 respectively oftransfer relay M. Contacts 48 and Al are connected to contacts 49 and5|, as is the case in the two transmitter system. The leads from theselast named contacts, however, do not go directly to the indicator R, asin the two transmitter system, but extend to contacts 18 and H of thetransfer relay N. Contacts 12 and 13 are associated respectively withcontacts 18 and H. Contact 12 is permanently connected to contact 78 andalso the winding R2| of the indicator, likewise contact 13 ispermanently connected to contact I9 and to winding R22 of the indicatorarmature. Contact 16 is associated with contact 18 but insulatedtherefrom, and connects with winding 2| of transmitter Z. Contact 11 isassociated with contact 79 in the same manner and is connected towinding 22 of transmitter Z. Contact member 14 cooperates with contacts18 and I2, and the contact member 15 cooperates with contacts TI and 13.Both 14 and l5 (not shown) are mounted on the same end of the walkingbeam of transfer relay N and engage their respective contacts whenmagnet 82 is operated. At the other end of the walking beam of relay Nanother pair of contact members 88 and 8| (not shown, but similar to 34and 35 of Figs. 5 and 6, as well as T4 and T5) are mounted in the samemanner as those just described. Contact member 88 cooperates withcontacts 16 and 18, while 8| cooperates with 11 and 19 the contactmembers being brought into engagement with their respective contactswhen magnet 83 of the transfer relay is energized.

The circuit operates as follows: Assume it is desired to transmit asignal from transmitter X to the indicator R. The initial movement ofthe transmitter lever l8, will cause star wheel ID to turn, causingdetent roller H to ride up on to a tooth depending on the direction thehandle is turned, closing contact group I5. Contact 51 connects circuitA from generator 5 to contacts 58, 54 and 59 causing the followingoperations: Magnet 28 of transfer relay M will be energized by a circuitfrom contact 51, contact 54, magnet 28, to circuit B, and this operationwill establish a circuit between contacts 25 and 40 and also betweencontacts 26 and M which circuits extend to contact l0 and contact H ofrelay N. At the same time magnet 28 operated, magnet 82 of transferrelay N was operated by a. circuit from circuit A, contact 51, contact58, winding 82, to circuit B. The closing of contacts 18 and 72 by thecontact member M established a circuit from winding 2| of transmitter Xthrough to the winding R2| of the indicator R. Likewise when contactmember 15 established a circuit from contact H to contact I3 armaturewinding 22 of transmitter X was connected with the winding R22 of theindicator R. Windings 23 and R23 are permanently connected together.Therefore, as the handle continues to be moved in the direction of anyoperated relays M and N in such a manner that transmitters Y and Z weredisconnected from the circuit and at the same time transmitter X wasconnected directly to the indicator R.

When transmitter Y is operated the contact group I5 is closed in thesame manner as just described in connection with transmitter X exceptthat when contacts 51 and 58 make magnet 29 of transfer M is energizedand magnet 82 of transfer relay N is operated through contact 55. As isthe case with transmitter X, the bell 60 is operated when battery isplaced on contact 59.

The movement of the handle of transmitter Y causes the followingcircuits to be established between the armature of transmitter Y and thearmature of the indicator R: Coil 2| of transmitter Y contacts 48, 52,49 of relay M, 19, 14, 12 of relay N, and armature winding R2| of theindicator M. Winding 22 of transmitter Y, contacts 58, 53 and 5| ofrelay M, contacts H, 15, 13 of relay N to winding of R22 of indicator R.As in the previous cases, winding 23 of transmitter Y is permanentlyconnected to the corresponding windings of the other motors in thecircuit. By referring to the drawings it will be seen that the windingson the armature of transmitter Y are now connected to the correspondingwindings of the armature of relay R and both transmitters X and Z aredisconnected from the circuit.

When transmitter Z is operated the initial movement of its handle l8establishes a path from generator 5, through circuit A, contact 57,contact 58 to magnet 83 back to circuit B, operating magnet 83 of thetransfer relay N. At the same time line A is put on contact 59 and thesignal bell 69 is operated. The operation of magnet 83 of the transferrelay N causes contact member 88 to close the circuit between 16 and 18,connecting the armature winding 2| of transmitter Z to R2| of theindicator. Contacts 11 and 19 are also closed by their contact member 8|and this establishes the circuit from winding 22 of the transmitter Z toR22 of the indicator. As in the other cases windings 23 and R23 arepermanently connected together. The windings on the armature oftransmitter Z are thus connected to the corresponding windings of theindicator R and it will be seen by referring to the drawings that theoperation of magnet 83 disconnected transmitters X and Y from thecircuit.

Only one indicator R has been shown in the diagram but a number ofsimilar indicators will operate in the same manner as a single indicatorif their armature windings are connected in parallel and their fieldwindings are supplied from the same source of alternating current.

I claim:

In a self synchronous signaling system, a plurality of transmitter unitsand a receiver unit, each unit comprising a motor having a field windingand a. polyphase armature winding movable with respect to said fieldwinding; a star wheel mounted for rotation with the armature winding ofeach transmitter, normally open switch means mounted adjacent each starwheel for closure by the teeth of said star wheel on movement of saidarmature winding, means for energizing all of said field windings from acommon source of current, relay means adapted to connect the phase 3windings of the transmitter armature which is moved to the correspondingphase windings of the armature of the receiver unit and to disconnectthe phase windings of the other transmitter

